Panthers fire GM after poor start

Marty Hurney said the “losing environment” for the Carolina Panthers must end. He won’t be a part of the change.

Hurney was fired as general manager Monday, one day after star quarterback Cam Newton expressed his frustration with a 1-5 record. The Panthers have the worst mark in the NFC in a season that began with high expectations. But a 19-14 loss to Dallas was Carolina’s fourth straight defeat.

Hurney, the GM since 2002, took responsibility for the team’s failures.

“It’s simple. We’re 1-5. We are 1-3 at home,” Hurney said. “We laid in egg in front of the Giants on national TV (a 36-7 loss) and came back the last two weeks and lost against teams we felt like we had a good chance to beat (Seattle, Dallas). It can’t continue to go this way.”

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Brandon Beane, the team’s director of football operations, will handle day-to-day football matters until a new GM is hired.

PACK LOSES WOODSON

Green Bay Packers safety Charles Woodson has a broken collarbone and will be out about six weeks.

The 1997 Heisman Trophy winner and 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year was hurt when he made a dive for a pass that St. Louis quarterback Sam Bradford completed to wide receiver Brandon Gibson during the Packers’ win Sunday.

The 36-year-old Woodson also broke his clavicle in a 2011 Super Bowl win over Pittsburgh and Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Woodson was nervous about his latest injury.

“He was a little nervous about it last night,” McCarthy said. “If you’ve seen the play, it was a very similar action as he experienced in the Super Bowl.”

NORV STICKS TO STORY

Coach Norv Turner said nobody from the San Diego Chargers used Stickum in a Monday night loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 15 or in any other game.

Turner was reacting to a reported investigation by the NFL into whether the Chargers used a banned sticky substance that night. They lost to Denver, 35-24.

Turner said the team does use a towel, which is used by “a lot of teams in this league,” to dry the ball, gloves worn by players and their arms.

Fox Sports reported Sunday that officials made an equipment manager empty his pockets and found a skin-colored or clear type of tape.

EXTRA POINTS

Brady Quinn will take over as starting quarterback for the Chiefs and Matt Cassel will serve as be backup for Sunday’s game against the Raiders. … Still hospitalized with blood clots in his lungs, Browns starting guard Jason Pinkston was placed on injured reserve, ending his second season in the NFL after six games. The 25-year-old was rushed to the Cleveland Clinic on Thursday with the life-threatening condition. …The Chargers placed kicker Nate Kaeding on injured reserve and plan to release him when he’s healthy. Kaeding kicked in the first three games before injuring his groin. In 2011, he blew out his left knee on the season-opening kickoff. … Titans left tackle Michael Roos had surgery to remove his appendix, and coach Mike Munchak said the speed of his recovery will determine whether he plays Sunday against Indianapolis.